Sidehill steering attachment for tractors



Nov. 5, 1940.

E. E. WESTPHAL SIDEHILL STEERING ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTORS Fild Sept. 9, 1938 MN "m Patented Nov. 5,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SIDEHILL STEERING ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTORS Edward E. Westphal, near Zimmerman, Minnr Application September 9, 1938, Serial No. 229,118

Claims.

Most tractors are built so that each of the rear wheels will run between rows of crops separated from each other, and many modern tractor con structions include a central front wheel assembly which may be a single or double wheel and this front wheel assemblyis adapted to travel between rows which separate the path of travel taken by the rear 'wheels between adjacent laterally dis pcsed rows. On fairly steep slopes which are still useful for cultivation when the crop row is planted along the slope it is extremely difficult to cultivate the crop for the reason that the rear end of the tractor has a tendency to slip down the slope and in many cases run over the crop and destroy the same. v p

It is, therefore, a general object of my invention to provide a tractor suitable for cultivating 2d row crops on comparatively steep'slo'pe's wherein the center of gravity of themachine may be shifted and the front centralized steering wheel assembly may be laterally shifted to overcome the tendency of the tractor to get out of proper alignment with respect to the row crops so that the track followed by both the front wheel assembly and the rear wheels will be properly aligned between the rows and the crop will not be damaged.

l Another object of the invention is the provision of means for shifting the central front wheel assembly relative to the forward portion of the tractor by means of a control which can be actuated at will from the usual driver's seat.

40 A further object of the invention is the provision of a sidehill steering attachment for tractors which will permit not only lateral shifting of the front wheel assembly but which will also permit steering of said front wheel assembly regardless of the ,angle at which the assembly has been shifted.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters refer to the same or similar parts throughout the views, and in which:

Fig. l is a plan view showing the general outline of a tractor with my invention incorporated therewith;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of my invention and parts of the supported portion of a tractor;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken approximately on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section 5 through the lower central portion of the frame to which my invention is secured and showing. portions of the steering column in elevation.

While in the drawing the tractor itself is illustrated more or less diagrammatically, it is as- 10 sumed to be a tractor of general standard construction having a. main body portion 5 within which is mounted the motor and in the forward portion of which is positioned the customary radiator 6 which generally extends upwardly to a 15 point a little higher than the engine itself. Beneath the hood of the tractor and above the motor adjacent the rear thereof is the customary fuel tank 1, the upper portion of which is approximately the same height as the'top of the mi radiator 6. The rear portion of the machine is mounted upon a rear axle 8 which carries the usual drive wheels 9. A seat not shown is customarily positioned above the axle adjacent the differential housing Ill. Q

The forwardends' of the tractor side frame members are shown in Fig. l at H and extending upwardly therefrom is a vertical frame element I! which is roughlyrectangular in shape. The upper cross-piece of the frame element I2 is pro- 30 vided with a reinforced portion l3 which has an aperture in the form of a laterally disposed slot M, the latter communicating with a rounded concave socket IS on the underside of the frame element. A steering post It extends through the 35 opening formed by the communication between the cut-out l4 and the socket i5 and downwardly through a sleeve-like housing I! to the upstanding portion of a stub axle housing i8. The housing has branches I9 which carry stub axles 0 (not shown), and wheels 20 are mounted thereon in any well known manner. A rounded bearing element 2| is mounted on the steering post It and is held against downward movement on said post by means of a collar which is firmly secured to the steering post l6.

The bearing element 2| carries a pair'of oppositely disposed stub shafts 23 which extend through suitable journalled openings in the reinforced frame portion l3 and thence through sub- 5 stantially centralized openings in a pair of spaced plates 24. The plates 24 are connected attheir upper edges by means of a horizontally disposed strip 25.

The upper end of the steering post I8 is Journalled. The lower portions of said plates 24 may be connected in any suitable manner such as, by brace rods 26. The steering post Iii is adapted to rotate freely in the rounded bearing element 2|, 5 and since the pins 23 are mounted for free movement in the reinforced portion |3 of the frame and also in the plates 24, it will be seen that said steering post can be rotated and can also be moved to various angular positions laterally of the center of the upstanding frame l2 and also of the tractor itself.

Steering of the center front wheel assembly which may either be composed of two wheels or a single wheel, as desired, is accomplished is through the medium of a worm gear 21 which is fixed on the upper end of the steering post It and a worm 28 which meshes-with the gear 21 and is mounted on a shaft 29 which extends rearwardly above the tractor through a suitable supgo porting bracket plate 30 adjacent the rear of the tractor and carrying a control wheel 3| which is the customary steering wheel in tractor constructions.

The sleeve-like housing H which receives a a portion of the steering post l6 and which is r0- tatablerelative to said post carries at its lower end a gear 32 and a roller 33. The gear 32 operatively meshes with an arcuate racli 34 which forms a portion of the lower cross piece |2a of 30 the vertical frame element I2. As shown in Fig. 4 the rack 34 operates only the upper portion of the frame cross member |2a and the lower por-f tion of said cross member comprises a portion of a trackway for the roller 33. At the other 85 side of the roller 33 from the trackway of the member |2a is a second frame cross member |2b which cooperates to confine said roller against forward movement, but to permit lateral shifting movement. A collar 35 on the steering post l6 supports the sleeve IT, the gear 32 and the 'roller 33 against downward movement on said steering post.

The upper end of the sleeve I1 is provided with a worm gear 33 which meshes with and is driven 45 by a worm 31 mounted on the forward end of the control shaft 38 which, as shown in Fig. 3, is Journalled in the spaced supporting plates 24 as is the shaft 29 in the steering assembly and said shaft 38 extends rearwardly to the bearing brack- 50 et 38, the extreme rear end of said shaft 38 carrying a gear 39. A cooperating gear 48 is enmeshed with the gear 39 and is connected to a control wheel 4| and adapted to rotate therewith on the steering control shaft 29. A pair of uni- 55 versal joints 42 are interposed in the shafts 29 and 38 to permit free movement of the front wheel assembly laterally without strain on any of the mechanism.

In operation if the tractor is being driven along work along the rack 34 and swing the steering post l6 and the front wheel assembly as a unit in the direction of the downward slope. This 65 will swing the entire forward portion of the tractor on the upwardly positioned bearing 2| as a pivot and the weight of the tractor at its forward end will be shifted up the slope. The main body portion of the tractor will then be in 7 a diagonal position with he forward end thereof pointed up the slope to some extent. A conventional tractor would assume such a diagonal position due to the tendency of the rear wheels to slide down the slope, but as has been pointed out, 75 in a conventional construction the rear and forward wheels of the tractor could not be made to follow the proper path of travel between the crop rows and the crop naturally would be damaged. With my forward wheel assembly shifted down the slope,- however, both that assembly and the rear wheels can be maintained in proper position between their respective rows and the crop will not be damaged. Many. road graders and similar types ofmachlnery are so constructed that the front wheels will tilt on stub axles but the point of pivotal movement is close to the axles themselves and there is very slight shifting movement of the wheels relative to the frame of the machine. Because the pivotal movement of my front wheel assembly is at the rounded bearing 2| in the upper portion of the vertical frame element I2 I secure a decided lateral shifting movement of the wheels rather than only a tilting action thereof and while tilting of the front wheel assembly is desirable in my construction the important result obtained is a moving of the front wheel assembly from one side of the vehicle to the other in accordance with conditions so that both the front and rear wheel assemblies will follow their proper tracks between the crop rows. This important feature of my device should not be confused with the action of the tiltable wheels in road graders and similar machines for the reason that different problems are present and different functions and results are obtained.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided an extremely advantageous tractor construction for the cultivation of row crops on hillsides, and while the illustrated form is a preferred one. it will be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a tractor construction, a vertical frame element at the front end thereof extending upwardly substantially as high as the remainder of said tractor, a central front wheel-assembly, a normally vertical rotatable steering post connected at its lower end to said wheel assembly and connected at its upper end to the upper portion of said vertical frame element for lateral pivotal movement relative thereto, means for rotating said post to steer said central front wheel assembly, and means for moving said post from its normal vertical position to an angular 3. In a tractor construction, a vertical frame element at the front end thereof extending upwardly substantially as high as the remainder of said tractor, a central front wheel assembly, a

normally vertical rotatable steering post connected at its lower end to said wheel assembly and connected at its upper end to the upper portion of said vertical frame element for lateral pivotal movement relative thereto, means for rotating said post to steer said central front wheel assembly, a sleeve around said steering post, a rack across the lower portion of said vertical frame element, a gear on the lower portion of @said sleeve, and meshed with said rack, a bearing guide across the lower portion of said vertical -frame element adjacent said rack, a bearing on said steering post and lying in said guide, and means for rotating said sleeve to cause the gear on the lower end thereof to move along said rack and alter the angle of said steering post.

4. A steering unit for a vehicle comprising a member pivotally connected tothe vehicle for oscillating movement about a fore and aft extending axis, a generally upright steering post journaled in the member, means for adjusting the member about its axis to control the angle of the steering transverse vertical plane Q, with respect to the vehi I and atleast-one ground wheel support1ng.--.;t-he @m'ember, said ground wheel being connected with the steering post so as to be steerablethereby.

5. A steering unit for a vehicle comprising a member pivotally connected to the vehicle for oscillating movement about a fore and aft extending axis, a generally upright steering post journaled in the member, means for adjusting the member about its axis to control the angle or the steering post in a transverse vertical plane with respect to the vehicle, a pair'oi ground wheels supporting the member and connected with the steering posttor steering action there- 15 

